Department of Health and Social Care

Dental Services: Northern Ireland

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the proposed EU ban on mercury-based dental amalgam will apply in Northern Ireland.

Lord Markham: The Government published an explanatory memorandum for the European Union’s (EU) mercury products legislation COM(23)395 and C(23)4683, on 1 November 2023. The final regulation has not yet been published by the EU, and we continue to assess the potential impacts. The Windsor Framework provides important mechanisms for robust engagement on matters of regulatory policy between the EU and the United Kingdom, as well as a guarantee of democratic oversight for the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Government has regular conversations with the EU about Windsor Framework-related matters.

Dental Services: Northern Ireland

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government whatdiscussions they have had with the EUabout the possibility of seeking an exemption for Northern Ireland on any ban on mercury-based dental amalgam.

Lord Markham: The Government published an explanatory memorandum for the European Union’s (EU) mercury products legislation COM(23)395 and C(23)4683, on 1 November 2023. The final regulation has not yet been published by the EU, and we continue to assess the potential impacts. The Windsor Framework provides important mechanisms for robust engagement on matters of regulatory policy between the EU and the United Kingdom, as well as a guarantee of democratic oversight for the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Government has regular conversations with the EU about Windsor Framework-related matters.

NHS: Vacancies

Lord Hay of Ballyore: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the shortage of NHS staff in rural and understaffed areas.

Lord Markham: The Government recognises the importance of expanding the National Health Service workforce, particularly in parts of the country which are understaffed, including rural areas. The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (LTWP) commits to doubling the number of medical school places, with new medical schools and additional places in geographical areas with the greatest staff shortfalls. Further medical expansion will build on the impact of five new medical schools that have already opened in historically hard-to-recruit rural and coastal locations in Tyne and Wear, West Lancashire, Essex, Lincolnshire, and Kent.The LTWP also sets out an aim to further adjust the distribution of postgraduate specialty training places, so that more medical students carry out their postgraduate training in parts of the country with the greatest shortages. Doctors are more likely to settle and practice in the areas they train. Therefore, expansion of places will help to address the need for more staff in these areas.

Veterans: Health Services

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask His Majesty's Government what initiatives are currently in place to ensure that military veterans receive timely access to (1) physical rehabilitation services, and (2) mental health services, specifically those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Lord Markham: Op RESTORE is a bespoke physical health and wellbeing service, commissioned by NHS England, which supports individuals who have served in, or are leaving, the British Armed Forces and have physical health injuries and related medical problems attributed to their time in the armed forces.NHS England also commissioned Op COURAGE, which is the comprehensive veterans’ mental health and wellbeing service. Access to Op COURAGE is via referral or by direct contact from veterans. A campaign to raise awareness of Op COURAGE launched on 9 January 2024.In addition, The National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC), which is part of the Government’s New Hospital Programme, is a new 70-bed facility which will benefit all patients, including veterans. Construction started in 2023.

Autism: Mental Health Services

Lord Hay of Ballyore: To ask His Majesty's Government what measures are in place to train healthcare professionals in understanding and supporting the specific medical needs of individuals with autism.

Lord Markham: There are several measures being put in place to train healthcare professionals in understanding and supporting the needs of autistic people.From 1 July 2022, the Health and Care Act 2022 requires providers registered with the Care Quality Commission to ensure their staff receive specific training on learning disability and autism appropriate to their role. We are rolling out the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism to support this. This training will help to ensure that staff have the right skills and knowledge to provide safe and compassionate care, including how to provide reasonable adjustments, for autistic people. Over 1.4 million people have completed the first part of Oliver’s Training, an e-learning package.NHS England has commissioned the Royal College of Psychiatrists to deliver the National Autism Training Programme for Psychiatrists in response to the need and demand for better autism training from within the profession. The training is co-produced and co-delivered with autistic people and offers a short foundation training course for psychiatrists working across a variety of settings, and a longer, more enhanced development course, aimed at psychiatrists and higher trainees who are seeking to increase their specialist knowledge and skills in autism. The provision of this training will help reduce diagnostic overshadowing, play a significant role in preventing unnecessary admissions to mental health hospitals for autistic people and improve autism appropriate care. The ambition is that this may contribute to reducing the number of inappropriate admissions, interventions such as seclusion and segregation along with the length of stay for those who need hospital care.

Dental Services: Northern Ireland

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to ban mercury-based dental amalgam in England and, if so, when.

Lord Markham: The United Kingdom’s current position is to phase down the use of dental amalgam in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, in line with national plans published in 2019. This includes avoiding the need for fillings through improvements in oral health and prevention, a clinical minimal intervention approach, restrictions on the use of dental amalgam on the treatment of deciduous teeth; in children under 15 years; and in pregnant or breastfeeding women, except when strictly deemed necessary by the practitioner on the ground of specific medical needs of the patient. This position is based on existing research on dental amalgam alternatives, clinical assessments based on clinical, and population need of the UK, impacts of COVID-19 and environmental uncertainties.

Autism: Children

Lord Hay of Ballyore: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve early diagnosis and intervention for children with autism spectrum disorders.

Lord Markham: We recognise timely identification of autism can play an important role in enabling children and young people to get appropriate support, which is crucial in preventing escalation of needs. We expect integrated care boards (ICBs) to have due regard to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines on autism when commissioning services. It is the responsibility of ICBs to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population in line with these NICE guidelines, including in relation to autism assessment. While we want every area to meet NICE guidance, we recognise that this is not happening everywhere.On 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services in an online-only format. This guidance will help the National Health Service improve autism assessment services and improve the experience for people referred to an autism assessment service. This includes guidance to local areas on how to manage referrals and the support that should be available whilst people are waiting for an assessment and after.In 2023/2024, £4.2 million of funding is available across England to improve services for autistic children and young people, including autism assessment services. We are also working in partnership with the Department for Education and NHS England on ‘Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in School’ (PINS), with £13 million of funding to test ideas that will improve access to specialist support for neurodiverse children in mainstream primary schools.Each ICB in England is expected to have an Executive Lead for learning disability and autism, supporting the Board in planning to meet the needs of its local population of people with a learning disability and autistic people, including in relation to appropriate autism assessment pathways. NHS England has published guidance on these roles.

Menopause

Lord Strathcarron: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that draft NHS guidance stated that "Not everyone who experiences menopause is a woman."

Lord Markham: NHS England is reviewing its internal policy on menopause, which applies to National Health Service staff. A draft was briefly published in error by NHS England on 13 March 2024. NHS England plans to publish the updated staff policy in the next few weeks. No specific assessment was made by the Government of the draft guidance prior to this.We have been clear that biological sex matters, and it is important to use language that recognises the separate health and biological needs of men and women. It is also important that health information is provided in language that is inclusive of everyone that needs to hear it, so everyone who can be affected by certain conditions can get the help they need.

NHS: Staff

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that NHS staff have sufficient capacity to supervise and support new associate staff.

The Lord Bishop of Chelmsford: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that there is clarity for patients about different roles within clinical teams in healthcare settings, including regarding anaesthesia and physician associates.

Lord Markham: Anaesthesia Associates (AAs) and Physician Associates (PAs) are supervised by a designated senior doctor, in the role of a consultant, registrar, or general practitioner. The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan sets out plans to increase the PA workforce to 10,000 by 2036/37, and the AA workforce to 2,000 over the same period. The plan also calls for 60,000 more doctors, for a factor of five to one in favour of more doctors, which will contribute to the sustainable implementation of this multidisciplinary model and deliver increased capacity to supervise and support new associate staff.NHS England is working with the relevant professional colleges and regulators to ensure the use of associate roles is expanded safely and effectively, and that they are appropriately supported, supervised, and integrated into multidisciplinary teams.The introduction of regulation by the General Medical Council (GMC) will provide a standardised framework of governance and assurance for the clinical practice and professional conduct of AAs and PAs, and make it easier for employers, patients, and the public to understand the relationship between these roles and that of doctors.As set out in National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines, all healthcare professionals should introduce themselves and explain their role to the patient regardless of their job title. In addition, the GMC has published interim standards for AAs and PAs in advance of regulation which makes it clear that professionals should always introduce their role to patients, and set out their responsibilities in the team.

Brain: Tumours

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government, following research from Cancer Research UK which found thatbrain, other central nervous system and intracranial tumours incidence rates have increased by almost two-fifths in the UK since the early 1990s, what steps they are taking to ensure that the funding spent on brain tumour research keeps pace with the increased incidence.

Lord Markham: Research is crucial in tackling cancer, which is why the Department invests over £1 billion per year in health research, through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was £121.8 million in 2022/23, and the NIHR spends more on cancer than any other disease group.The NIHR funds research in response to proposals received from scientists rather than allocating funding to specific disease areas. It is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality. In May 2018 the Government announced £40 million for brain tumour research as part of the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission (TJBCM) through the NIHR. Since the 2018 announcement, the NIHR has committed £11.3 million across 17 projects. It is worth noting that all applications that were fundable in open competition, have been funded. There is still funding available from the original £40 million announced in 2018. We are committed to funding high-quality brain cancer research, and we expect to spend more as new research progresses. Brain tumours are a difficult research area with a relatively small research community. To increase the quality, diversity, and number of brain cancer research proposals, the NIHR is working with the TJBCM and the research community to develop research capacity in the brain cancer community. The NIHR continues to encourage and welcome more funding applications for research into brain tumours.

Mirtazapine

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government how many prescriptions for mirtazapine were issued in each year since 2014; how many Yellow Card reports of sexual dysfunction and persistent sexual dysfunction the MHRA received for mirtazapine in each year since 2014; and what consideration NHS England has given to adding sexual dysfunction as a side effect on the patient information leaflets for mirtazapine.

Lord Markham: The following table shows the total number of items issued for mirtazapine, each year since 2014 to 2023:Time PeriodTotal items issued20146,056,91820156,783,90620167,526,20020178,198,34520188,938,36220199,702,599202010,532,577202111,249,963202211,776,025202312,401,593Source: Data was provided by the NHS Business Services Authority, using the British National Formulary chemical substance mirtazapineNote: Items have been dispensed, but not necessarily prescribed, in England.The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for ensuring medicines, medical devices, and blood components for transfusion meet applicable standards of safety, quality, and efficacy. The MHRA rigorously assesses available data, including from the Yellow Card scheme, and seeks advice from their independent advisory committee, the Commission on Human Medicines, where appropriate to inform regulatory decisions.The MHRA has received a total of 46 Yellow Card reports of sexual dysfunction related reactions suspected to be associated with mirtazapine, four of which include information that suggest the suspected adverse reactions persisted after mirtazapine was withdrawn. The following table shows the number of Yellow Card reports of suspected mirtazapine related sexual dysfunction, and reports of sexual dysfunction that persisted after the drug was withdrawn, each year from 2014 to 2024:YearReports of sexual dysfunctionReports of sexual dysfunction that continued after mirtazapine was withdrawn2014302015102016202017302018102019512020302021512022101202390202441Source: data provided by the MHRA.It is important to note that the inclusion of a particular report on the MHRA’s system does not necessarily mean that the adverse reactions reported have been caused by the suspect drug. Additionally, the number of reports received should not be used as a basis for determining the incidence of a reaction, as neither the total number of reactions occurring, nor the number of patients using the drug, is known.The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of medicines on the United Kingdom’s market, including mirtazapine. Reports of suspected adverse reactions are reviewed weekly by a multidisciplinary team as part of the MHRA’s signal detection process. The term signal is used to define any suspected adverse reaction or potential safety concern that requires further evaluation.Responsibility for adding a side effect to the product information leaflet sits with the MHRA. The product information for mirtazapine reflects the data currently available, and does not include sexual dysfunction as a possible side effect. However, data from Yellow Card reports and other sources such as published studies and periodic safety assessments are kept under continuous review by the MHRA. The marketing authorisation holder has recently submitted the latest periodic safety update report to the MHRA, and this will be carefully assessed. If there is sufficient evidence and associated data about the potential to experience sexual dysfunction as a side effect, the patient information for mirtazapine can be updated.

Gonorrhoea and Syphilis: Sick Leave

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the increase in incidents of (1) gonorrhoea, from 58 diagnoses per 100,000 people in 2013 to 146 diagnoses in 2023, and (2)syphilis, from 6.4 diagnoses per 100,000 people in 2013 to 15.4 diagnoses in 2023; and what assessment they have made of the impact of the resulting loss of working days.

Lord Markham: Sexually transmitted infection diagnosis data is published annually, as official statistics by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), and is available at the GOV.UK website, in an online only format. There were 82,592 gonorrhoea diagnoses and 8,692 infectious syphilis diagnoses, including primary, secondary, and early latent, reported in sexual health services in England, in 2022. This is compared to 31,177 gonorrhoea diagnoses and 3,345 infectious syphilis diagnoses, primary, secondary, and early latent, in 2013. Gonorrhoea is increasing in people of all ages, but the rise is highest among young people aged 15 to 24 years old. Infectious syphilis, including primary, secondary, and early latent, is increasing among gay, bisexual, or other men, who have sex with men and heterosexual people. Dedicated sexual health services play a key public health role in diagnosis, early treatment and management of STIs and we are providing local authorities with more than £3.5 billion in 2023/24 (increasing to £3.6 billion in 2024/25) through our public health grant to support this activity. We continue to support the delivery of local services, providing guidance and data through UKHSA and my department. In March 2023 the Department of Health and Social Care in collaboration with UKHSA, published the Integrated Sexual Health Service Specification to support local authorities in comprehensive commissioning of services and provide advice and guidance on managing STIs outbreaks. UKHSA has also published a Syphilis Action Plan to address the increase in syphilis diagnosis in England, focusing on key interventions such as targeted testing, partner notification and awareness raising. No assessment has been made of any resulting loss of working days, due to gonorrhoea and syphilis diagnoses.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Ukraine: Reconstruction

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the wide range of estimates for the reconstruction of Ukraine; what action they have taken to confiscate Russian assets to contribute to reconstruction costs; and what estimate they have made of the value of those assets.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: As the Government has made very clear in parliament and through collective statements at the G7, Russia should pay for the damage it has caused. The World Bank calculates total recovery and reconstruction needs at $486 billion. The UK will remain a credible partner on this by assuring ourselves of the safety, robustness and legality of any proposal to make use of Russian assets to support Ukraine. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine between February 2022 and October 2023, cumulatively £22.7 billion of Russian assets have been reported frozen due to UK financial sanctions regulations.

Sri Lanka: Travel Information

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to update the travel advice to Sri Lanka to reflect the security situation in that country.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The safety of British people is the main factor when determining our travel advice for all countries, including Sri Lanka. Our advice is designed to help British people make informed decisions about foreign travel and remains under constant review to ensure it reflects our latest assessment of risks when travelling abroad. Our travel advice is based on objective assessments of the risks to British nationals. These assessments are made by drawing on expert sources of information available to the government including local knowledge from our embassies and information provided by the local authorities in each country. We will continue to keep Sri Lanka travel advice under close review.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Seed Potatoes: Northern Ireland

Lord Dodds of Duncairn: To ask His Majesty's Government, further tothe Written Answer byLord Douglas-Miller on11 March (HL2836), whether, prior to the UK leaving the EU, seed potatoes could be moved by professional operators in Great Britain directly to Northern Ireland consumers.

Lord Douglas-Miller: Under the Windsor Framework, seed potatoes can now move again from Great Britain to Northern Ireland under the terms of the NI plant health label scheme. This means professional operators in Great Britain can send seed potatoes to professional operators in Northern Ireland for commercial growing in Northern Ireland. Once these are planted in Northern Ireland and grown into potatoes for consumption, or used to produce further seed potatoes, they can be sold into Northern Ireland retailers and garden centres for personal use.

Inland Border Facilities: Ashford

Baroness Hayman of Ullock: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce safeguards to ensure that, under their Border Target Operating Model, there can be no interference with consignments which enter the UK via the Port of Dover prior to inspections being carried out at the Sevington inland border facility.

Lord Douglas-Miller: Goods selected for inspection will not be legally cleared for sale or use within the UK until they have attended and been cleared at the BCP. Where the BCP has concerns, either due to non-attendance or evidence of non-compliance, there are existing provisions, including requiring return or destruction of the goods, or for the goods to be referred for inland controls by the local authority. Any vehicles suspected to be carrying illegal imports (e.g. those for which customs declarations and pre-notification have not been made or suspected to have been made in bad faith) will continue to be stopped and dealt with by Border Force at the point of entry to the UK, not sent to Sevington.

Food: Import Controls

Baroness Randerson: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the impact of the proposed 70per cent cut in funding from DEFRA from April 2024 for the inspection team of Dover Port Health Authority, and (2) how this will affect the action of this team to maintain UK food safety and security.

Lord Douglas-Miller: On the 31 January 2023 we introduced the first stage of the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) which balances the need to protect biosecurity with the impact on trade. All port health authorities (PHAs) and local authorities (LAs) undertaking the new sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks on EU goods from 30 April 2024 will be able to issue charges to recover their costs in the way they do now for Rest of the World goods. In 2022, Defra began providing a temporary financial support package to PHAs and LAs to retain staff until the introduction of the BTOM. In that time, these staff were focused on supporting wider biosecurity work. This included supporting Border Force with enforcing the temporary African Swine Fever (ASF) safeguard measure on pork and pork products from the EU, in place pending implementation of a new SPS policy for goods intended for personal use. Defra remains committed to protecting biosecurity and we are confident that this will not negatively impact UK food safety and security. We are working closely with all border stakeholders in the lead up to all implementation dates of new SPS controls. We are working with them to train and upskill staff to ensure that any new controls that are brought in are enacted in an efficient manner so as not to disrupt trade, but which crucially will maintain our high biosecurity standards.

Esthwaite Water: Sewage

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Environment Agency is monitoring the untreated sewage being discharged into Esthwaite Water by United Utilities; if not, why; if so, how often United Utilities is discharging untreated sewage into Esthwaite Water; and why these discharges are permitted in a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Lord Douglas-Miller: It is important to highlight that no storm overflows currently discharge into Esthwaite Water, and the only source of sewage pollution is likely to come from Emergency overflows.Emergency overflows are only permitted to operate in exceptional circumstances to prevent environmental damage or harm to the public, such as due to electrical power failure or mechanical failure.The Environment Agency is ensuring there is monitoring on all emergency overflows from 2025. This includes at Esthwaite Lodge Pumping Station. The Environment Agency already require water companies to report any discharge of sewage in emergency overflows as pollution incidents. The Environment Agency has not had any reports from United Utilities of emergency overflow discharges from Esthwaite Lodge Pumping Station. The Environment Agency investigate any instances where permits are not being followed and will always take enforcement action if necessary. The permit for Esthwaite Lodge Pumping Station is in place to protect Esthwaite Water SSSI and that the emergency overflow provision is part of that permit.

Import Controls: Small Businesses

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address challenges faced by small businesses and importers due to the introduction of new border checks and paperwork requirements post-Brexit.

Lord Douglas-Miller: The Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) sets out our new global regime of border controls that makes better use of technology and data to reduce friction and the cost of border controls for businesses and consumers when compared to the proposed July 2022 regime. It will create a radically simpler yet secure experience for traders moving goods across the UK border. After engaging with stakeholders and considering the implementation challenges they raised, alongside the need to manage biosecurity risks, we have adapted the timeline we originally published in the draft version of the BTOM to give businesses and their supply-chains more time to prepare. Many goods, including more than 60% of animal product consignments, are now deemed low risk and either not controlled at all or only subject to pre-notification, and medium risk goods are subject to fewer physical checks than the EU’s regime. Defra has also introduced several facilitations for groupage movements, as well as developing our Certification Logistics Pilot. Those facilitations include: relaxed official sealing requirements for animal products; greater flexibility in transporting groupage loads; elimination of 'Either/Or' sections in health certificates; the use of schedules allowing greater number of similar animal products under a single export health certificate, and greater flexibilities in the pre-notification and import declaration processes. All businesses will also benefit from the Single Trade Window, a simple service gateway that serves as a single point of interaction between businesses and UK border processes, submitting information to the Government only once and in only one place ensuring administration costs are kept to a minimum.

Department for Business and Trade

Lithium

Lord Wigley: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the deposits of lithium in Wales and Scotland; and whether they will ensure that all such is conveyed to the respective devolved authorities.

Lord Johnson of Lainston: The Critical Minerals Strategy committed to collate UK geoscientific data and identify areas of geological potential for critical mineral extraction. The Department for Business and Trade commissioned the British Geological Survey to undertake the study, “Potential for Critical Raw Material Prospectivity in the UK”, delivered by the Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre (CMIC) and was published in 2023. It is a preliminary assessment of geological factors only, and its findings do not mean prospective areas identified will necessarily be targeted for exploration and mining. Mineral planning policy is also a devolved matter.Areas of potential geological prospectivity for critical minerals were identified in both Scotland and Wales. Regarding the geological prospectivity for lithium, the report identified two areas in Scotland and no areas in Wales.

Ministry of Justice

Prisons: Overcrowding

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of, and what action they are taking to reduce, overcrowding in prisons in England and Wales.

Lord Bellamy: In prisons where we have crowding in place, a rigorous cell certification process is undertaken that ensures the use of cells is subject to formal assessment of safety and decency.We continue to pursue the package of longer-term measures the Lord Chancellor announced on 16 October 2023 to reform the justice system and continue to address the prison capacity challenges. The measures include: the extension of the Early Removal Scheme, introducing a presumption to suspend sentences of 12 months or less, curtailing the licence period for IPP sentences and extending the use of Home Detention Curfew. On 11 March, the Lord Chancellor announced the next steps in our plan, to allow us to go further and faster in removing foreign national offenders (FNOs). This includes expediting prisoner transfers with our priority partners such as Albania, and the creation of a new taskforce across the Home Office and Ministry of Justice to change the way we process FNO cases radically.To meet pressing demand, we are building c.20,000 modern, rehabilitative prison places – the biggest prison build programme since the Victorian era. We have already delivered c.5,900 of these, including through our two new 1,700 places prisons, HMP Five Wells and HMP Fosse Way, and c.590 Rapid Deployment Cells across 11 sites. By the end of 2025, we are on track to have delivered around 10,000 places in total.The Government will continue to monitor the evolving situation with demand for prison places carefully, so that we can make sure we have the right approaches in place to maintain the capacity required for a safe and effective criminal justice system.

Home Office

Edward Heath

Lord Lexden: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks ofLord Sharpe of Epsom on 11 March (HL Deb col 1806) when, and in what form, he will “report back” to the House about inquiries that are to be made by Home Office officials.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: I will return to the House in due course after receiving advice from officials on the considerations of whether the type of review of Operation Conifer the noble Lord calls for is necessary, possible and/or viable.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Housing: Construction

Baroness Pinnock: To ask His Majesty's Government whether, in calculating a five-year supply of allocated housing sites, they will include (1) those sites with existing planning consent but not yet developed, and (2) units not yet built in partly developed sites.

Baroness Pinnock: To ask His Majesty's Government following the passage of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, whether local authorities are able to determine the number of housing units that their district needs without having to follow any direction from the Government on numbers required.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: The definition of deliverable sites is set out in the National Planning Policy Framework. The Framework also sets out that authorities should use the standard method to calculate housing need.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Pensions

Lord Touhig: To ask His Majesty's Government whether there is a time limit within which former Armed Forces personnel can transfer their service pension to a new pensions provider.

The Earl of Minto: Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS) benefits can be transferred out up until 12 months before the date the member reaches pension benefit age. If a member wishes to transfer their AFPS benefits into another Public Sector scheme, this must be done within 12 months of them joining the new Public Sector Scheme. Both the Pension Schemes Act 2015 and the Taxation of Pensions Act 2014 stipulates the rule that prevents transfers from unfunded public service defined benefit schemes (such as the AFPS) to funded defined contribution schemes in the UK or abroad. Once an AFPS pension is in payment, this cannot be transferred out.

Armed Forces: Pensions

Lord Touhig: To ask His Majesty's Government in what format Armed Forces personnel receive advice about their pensions when they leave the services.

The Earl of Minto: The single Services provide holistic support to their respective leavers and signpost to the services available to them. Although individual units may have their own bespoke processes, the Tri Service Resettlement policy (JSP 534) available at the link below explains the minimum level of support. www.gov.uk/government/publications/tri-service-resettlement-manual-jsp-534All Service leavers are given the opportunity to attend a Financial Aspects of Resettlement Brief by the Forces Pension Society. Briefs can be attended at any point in a Service person's career, however priority is given to Service leavers with nine months or less to discharge. Briefings are tailored, where numbers permit, to different rank groups, and spouses are welcome to attend. All Service leavers are issued a Service Leavers' Guide designed to provide help and advise on a range of topics to assist with planning the transition to civilian life, and contains pension information and signposting. This was last reviewed in September 2023 and can be found at the following link:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/651c1168e4e658000d59d888/Service_Leavers_Guide_-_Sep_23.pdf On discharge, Service leavers also receive a letter from the Joint Personnel Administration Centre (JPAC) detailing their pension entitlement and when this will be paid. Further information and guidance relating to the Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS) is readily available on gov.uk at the following link:www.gov.uk/guidance/pensions-and-compensation-for-veterans  The Armed Forces Pension Calculator can be accessed at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/armed-forces-pension-calculator

Department for Education

School Milk

Lord Hampton: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential (1) social, and (2) economic, benefits ofexpanding the School Milk Subsidy Scheme to provide a free one third of a pint portion of milk to all primary school age children each day attending school.

Baroness Barran: Milk is an excellent food for children’s growth and development. This is why, as part of the School Food Standards, schools are already required to ensure milk is available to all pupils who want it during school hours. The National School Milk Subsidy Scheme can be used by primary schools to reduce the cost of milk for all their pupils. Thanks to Universal Infant Free School Meals, pupils under seven years old are already eligible for free milk when it is offered as part of their school lunch. Older pupils entitled to benefits related free school meals are also eligible for free milk when made available during the school day. This is in addition to the free milk provided for children under five-years-old thanks to the Nursery Milk Scheme. As with free school meals, the department believes it is important to support those most in need and to ensure policy remains affordable and deliverable for schools. The department does not have plans to change the current eligibility conditions for the scheme.

Apprentices: Finance

Baroness Wolf of Dulwich: To ask His Majesty's Government how much money has been transferred to small and medium-sized enterprises by levy-paying businesses using their apprenticeship service account to transfer unused levy funds in (1) 2020–21, (2) 2021–22, and (3) 2022–23.

Baroness Wolf of Dulwich: To ask His Majesty's Government how many small and medium-sized enterprises have received funds for apprenticeship training as a result of levy-paying businesses using their apprenticeship service account to transfer unused levy funds in (1) 2020–21, (2) 2021–22, and (3) 2022–23.

Baroness Barran: Transfers are a great way for large employers to use their levy funds to support apprenticeships in other businesses, including small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), flexi-job apprenticeship agencies and charities, to help meet local or sector specific needs.As announced this week, from April the department are increasing the proportion of their funds that levy-paying employers can transfer to support more apprenticeships in other businesses, including those in their local area or supply chain, from 25% to 50%. This will help SMEs hire more apprentices by reducing their costs and enabling them to benefit from the support and experience that larger employers can provide.Hundreds of large levy-paying employers have already taken advantage of the opportunity to transfer their unused levy funds to other businesses. Since September 2021, over 550 employers including ASDA, HomeServe, and BT Group, have pledged to transfer over £37 million to support apprenticeships in businesses of all sizes.​The below table shows the number of non-levy paying employers that have received levy transfer funding and the value of that funding. It is extremely encouraging that use of transfers continues to increase year-on-year. The department does not hold transfer data specific to SMEs (currently defined as businesses with fewer than 250 employees) but can confirm that most non-levy paying employers are SMEs.Financial Year2020-212021-222022-23Number of non-levy employers receiving transfer funding2,3703,7005,080Value of funding transferred (£ million)£13£19£26To note: Values include new apprenticeship starts and those who started in previous years but are still being funded. If an employer receives a transfer for an apprenticeship which continues across more than one financial year, they will appear in each year’s employer count. Values are actual payments made to date - they do not represent the total committed cost of transfers into future months and years.

Sign Language: GCSE

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made indeveloping approved exam board syllabuses for a GCSE in British Sign Language.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are takingto ensure that there are sufficient tutors available to teach the GCSE in British Sign Language when it is introduced.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that members of the British Deaf Community are offered opportunities to become tutors to teach the GCSE in British Sign Language in schools when it is introduced.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the proposed new British Sign Language GCSE will count towards the English Baccalaureate to ensure it is seen by schools as holding the same weight as other languages.

Baroness Barran: The department published British Sign Language (BSL) GCSE subject content in December 2023, following a public consultation last summer. Exam boards are now able to develop detailed specifications, which must be reviewed and accredited by the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) before schools and colleges are able to teach them. The department does not play a role in developing or approving exam board specifications for GCSEs. Only ancient or modern foreign language (MFL) GCSEs count towards the languages pillar of the English Baccalaureate (EBacc). The BSL GCSE does not sit in the MFL suite as it is not a foreign language but an indigenous one and does not contain the speaking and listening elements common to all MFL GCSEs. While the BSL GCSE will therefore not count towards the EBacc, it will be a rigorous qualification that is internationally recognised and accepted in school and college performance tables. The department is considering the steps that can be taken to support the delivery of the BSL GCSE when it is introduced, such as engaging with initial teacher training providers. The department also expects stakeholder organisations and exam boards to play an important role in supporting the teaching workforce to deliver the BSL GCSE.

Wales Office

Foreign Relations: Wales

Lord Wigley: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Harlech on 6 March (HL3092), on how many occasions in the past 12 months has the Government failed to provide an official to attend a meeting arranged between (1) Welsh Ministers and (2) ministers of foreign governments; and whether the meetings were permitted to go ahead in those circumstances.

Lord Harlech: Between March 2023 and March 2024, Welsh Ministers have conducted over 20 overseas visits. Close engagement between FCDO and Welsh Government officials ensured that Welsh Ministers were effectively supported on each visit. This included FCDO officials accompanying Welsh Ministers in their meetings with ministers of foreign governments, as appropriate. FCDO officials attended all such meetings.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Casement Park: Regeneration

Baroness Hoey: To ask His Majesty's Government what continuing role they have in assessing and funding the Casement Park project for Euro 28, and what funding they have already committed or anticipated to be committed.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: The Department for Communities in Northern Ireland is responsible for the redevelopment of Casement Park. Funding decisions are therefore primarily a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive.We continue to work closely with partners in Northern Ireland to make sure that EURO 2028 leaves a lasting legacy across the whole United Kingdom.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: BBC

Lord Birt: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Parkinson of Whitley Bay on 13 March (HL2878), how the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to safeguard the independence of the BBC should be exercised.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: The BBC is operationally and editorially independent of HM Government, and the Government rightly therefore does not interfere in these matters. The licence fee model confers on the BBC a unique responsibility to its audiences to place a particular focus on impartiality, which is the bedrock of trust in the BBC as an institution.It is right that the Government engages constructively with the BBC to ensure that it upholds these high standards expected by the public. When there is a risk that trust and faith in the organisation may be undermined, that should be of concern to the BBC, of concern to Ofcom, and of concern to the Government and Parliament.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Small Modular Reactors

Lord Naseby: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the delay inGreat British Nuclear's selection of small modular reactor designs for public support and its awarding of contracts for development.

Lord Callanan: At Spring Budget, we announced the launch of the next phase of the Great British Nuclear (GBN) Small Modular Reactor selection process, allowing vendors to bid for potentially multi-billion-pound technology development contracts. It is important that this process is robust. Companies will have until June to submit their tender responses, at which point GBN will assess these and negotiate final contracts, with the goal of announcing successful bidders later in 2024. The aim is for the competition to be the fastest of its kind in the world.

Hydrogen: Carbon Emissions

Lord Jackson of Peterborough: To ask His Majesty's Government whatprogress they are making in establishing a hydrogen certification scheme for imported and exported hydrogen.

Lord Callanan: In the British Energy Security Strategy, the Government committed to setting up a low carbon hydrogen certification scheme from 2025 and is now working at pace to put it in place. While the scheme will initially be domestically focused, the Government is taking steps to ensure that it can facilitate international trade in future. This includes participating in international fora on certification and signing a Declaration of Intent at COP28 on cross-border recognition of hydrogen certification. The Government will set out a pathway to international alignment ahead of launch of the scheme.

Hydrogen: Production

Lord Jackson of Peterborough: To ask His Majesty's Government whatfunding assistance they are providing for market structures and mechanisms for supporting increased hydrogen production.

Lord Callanan: The UK’s strong policy framework – including the Hydrogen Production Business Model, Net Zero Hydrogen Fund and Low Carbon Hydrogen Standard – has created an investable model which has leveraged private investment to kick start the UK’s hydrogen economy.Government is supporting projects to move the UK closer to our hydrogen ambitions.In December 2023 we announced 125MW of successful projects from Hydrogen Allocation Round (HAR) 1, and have since launched HAR2, aiming to allocate up to a further 875MW in 2025, subject to affordability and value for money.

Hydrogen: Carbon Emissions

Lord Jackson of Peterborough: To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of the British energy security strategy policy paper on 7 April 2022, what progress they are making in their ambition for the UK to achieve up to 10 gigawatts of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030, with at least half of this coming from electrolytic hydrogen.

Lord Callanan: Since the British Energy Security Strategy we have made rapid progress, establishing an investable business model to bring forward new hydrogen production facilities and delivering a £240m capital fund to support early deployment. In December 2023, we announced the largest number of commercial scale green hydrogen production projects at once anywhere in Europe, supporting 11 electrolytic projects through the first hydrogen allocation round. The second allocation round is currently underway with annual allocation planned from 2025. This, alongside the cluster sequencing process bringing forward carbon capture and storage-enabled hydrogen, will ensure we remain on track to meet our 2030 ambition.

Solar Power

The Lord Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham: To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to limiting the size of solar plants in areas of best and most versatile agricultural land.

Lord Callanan: Planning policy and associated guidance set out that the effective use of land should be prioritised by directing large scale solar projects to locate on previously developed and non-greenfield land. If a developer proposes to use any land falling under Natural England’s ‘best and most versatile agricultural land’, they are required to justify using such land and design their projects to avoid, mitigate and where necessary, compensate for any impacts. The planning system also sets out how decision-makers should consider the impact of cumulative impacts, for example where a number of solar projects are deployed in close proximity.Further detail can be found in the National Policy Statement (EN-3), National Planning Policy Framework, and associated planning practice guidance for renewable and low carbon energy.

Gas Fired Power Stations

Lord Wigley: To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they gave, in deciding on introducing additional electricity generation by way of new gas facilities, to whether these requirements could have been met by accelerating the small modular reactors programme.

Lord Callanan: A range of sources of generation contribute to system flexibility, especially when the wind isn't blowing or the sun isn't shining. In the case of nuclear, Great British Nuclear is running a Technology Selection Process for Small Modular Reactors. The Government’s aim is to run the fastest competition of its kind in the world, to identify technologies with the potential to deliver projects in the mid-2030s. In the immediate term, to maintain security of electricity supply, a limited amount of new gas capacity is needed as the main mature technology capable of providing sustained flexible capacity.